Looking back at them, POTF2 really does show its age, much the same as vintage did in 95. That being said, it would be real hard for me to feel the same kind of nostalgia for these as I do the vintage guys I played with as a kid...I was a college-age toy collector for POTF2 and that was a whole different beast.

I love the line though. As far as character selection, the run from 1995-99 has never been surpassed, even if some of the figures were comically bad out of the gate (R5D4 and Rebel Fleet Trooper pop right off the top of my head.) It really started cranking them out in 97, too, that has got to be the high-water mark for ease of collecting. It seemed like every week I found something new back then, and with the primitive Internet there were so few resources to go to, every new find was a pleasant suprise.

Maybe Hasbro will commemorate it with a four pack of repros...lets say Monkey-Face Leia, He-Man Luke, Goofy Short Chewie, and the funky Stormtrooper.

POTF2 at least evolved quickly enough that most of it still quasi-fits in... There's still quite a few POTF2 things I buy cheap when I see them for fodder and filler....

That early stuff though, cripes all mighty. Lando anyone? Funny, but sad at the same time.

What's the hands down worst POTF2 figure?

I know most are going to Monkey Leia, and that's tough to argue, especially with the mythological value she had that was wiped clear by Hasbro. That said, I'm putting my money on the WORST being the Fleet Trooper.

His sculpt was not only buff, but his head was as goofy looking as Leia's, and on top of it Hasbro didn't even come remotely close to even doing a single detail on him accurately. He was dead out of the gate. Lots of figures were from that exact era, but he really surpassed them all with only Monkey Leia being a primate hair behind.

It'll be fun doing this with Saga 2002 stuff too. There is a lot of **** to wade through with that line too.

There are so many candidates to choose from, that whole first wave or four was mostly stinkers. Only Threepio and the Jawas made it out alive.

Obviously the R5D4 and Fleet Trooper...even the day I got him I thought he looked like a mid 80s Fisher Price Adventure People toy.

Uncle Owen is a drunken disheveled mess with a tiny useless fist.

The "best" dancing figure has got to be the Death Star Trooper.

It even ended badly. Bouushh's Prisoner Chewbacca was one of the turdiest Chewies ever, almost as bad as Snoova disguise.

But let's show some love, too. We got some really good figures in the mix, articulation be damned. I never passed up a POTF2 Jawa 2 pack. The 1997 Bossk figure still holds up, and was 100% accurate. Pote Snitkin fits right in today. Max Rebo and his organ is all kinds of awesome...even with the diaper. No, especially because of the diaper.

And think of all the characters that only came out as POTF2 figures. Pote, Ishi Tib, Lak Sivrak, Muftak. No vintage versions, and nothing in modern times, not even a reissue. I tell ya, the most complete line ever.

Oh there's a lot that, while I'd buy an update gladly, they if they never redo them they'll still have a spot on my shelves... From ASP-7 to the alien 3 pack figs, they all hold up aesthetically... But imagine a new Nabrun Leids? That would be sweet looking and mega poseable.

I didn't realize the whole 18 year thing either, nice post Scott. I've mentioned it on here before, I was a little late to the POTF2 game, but I think it was a neat time for collecting. I like reading everyone's stories from those times, and wish I would have been paying attention to the hobby more at that point. I don't know that I am necessarily nostalgic for those He-Manish figures like I am for the vintage line, but I am sort of for that time in toy-buying.

It was so much easier to keep up (20 or less figures per year, at least in those early years). A much lower pricepoint (although, to be fair, lower quality), and it seems fairly easy to find things. Toy collecting has changed a lot since then, with so much more out there fighting for retail space, the continually climbing prices, and it seems more problems with distribution and availability. Plus, the whole "toy buying for profit" thing has much more of a following than it did in POTF2 days.

I know it can't ever return to that same scenario, but I sort of with the Star Wars line was simpler like it was in those days. As in, not so much to keep up with, lower prices, and easier to find. Plus, the entire focus on Original Trilogy made it appealing then too, but we've branched out since then understandably. I still like to go look at what the releases were for each year, and think how exciting it probably was when things first came out. Although many of them look silly (or even bad), I don't think the collecting community was quite as picky as we are today and maybe the hobby was a little more fun for everyone in those days.